


Come Get It Now

by ExyEimi (Siyah_Kedi)



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Goalie!Neil, Jealous!Andrew, M/M, Some Matt/Neil, foxes kick butt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 10:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13973229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siyah_Kedi/pseuds/ExyEimi
Summary: Renee is down and Andrew needs a goalie sub. Neil decides to give it a shot.





	1. Chapter 1

Renee was done for a couple months, at least.  A badly sprained ankle had laid her up and Neil was frustrated about their upcoming spring season.  They’d already lost their other goalie sub to a nervous breakdown a few weeks ago, and Andrew couldn’t hold the goal alone for every game between now and summer.  The dilemma was keeping Neil up at night, and not even the continuing evening practice with Kevin was enough to wear him out enough to sleep. Neil found himself in the girls’ room after class, watching Allison solicitously change out the ice on Renee’s ankle and it came to him in a flash of inspiration.   _ I can already sub in as a backliner, _ he realized.   _ I’ll just start practicing in goal tonight. _

He’d never been interested in goalkeeping, because he was a damn good striker, and he appreciated the activeness of getting around the opposing defense to score.  Andrew made it look easy, but Andrew was widely known as the best of NCAA exy goalkeeping. Neil wondered how he’d fare on a pro team, and if he’d care enough to find out.  That was a conversation for another time, though, and he excused himself quietly from the room in search of Kevin. 

“I need your help tonight,” he said upon finding him in the library.  Kevin looked up, startled to find him there. Neil caught his breath – he’d been running all over campus trying to figure out where the wayward striker was hiding – and leaned his hip against the table.  

“You always have my help,” Kevin said, slightly confused at Neil’s sudden appearance and looking aggravated about being interrupted in his studying. 

“You’ll see,” Neil said.  “But I don’t want anyone else to know yet.” 

Kevin sighed.  “What are you plotting now?” 

“My life depends on exy and you’re complaining that I’m trying to be a better player?” 

Reminding Kevin of the deal with Moriyama was just on the wrong side of a mistake, Neil realized, as the other striker turned white and then grey.  Kevin swallowed, and his expression firmed up. “You’re right,” he said. “What can I do for you?” 

“Just don’t tell anyone yet,” Neil said.  “I’ll tell you the rest tonight at practice.” 

Once he’d secured Kevin’s agreement, Neil pulled his phone from his pocket and toyed with it as he walked away, wondering what he could say to keep Andrew from showing up.  He trusted Andrew to keep it to himself until Neil was ready, but he wasn’t sure he wanted Andrew’s heavy gaze on him while he practiced Andrew’s position. He definitely didn’t want to have to put up with any commentary.  Finally, he just opened a new text and said, ‘ _ I need to practice with Kevin alone tonight, maybe for a couple days. _ ’

The answer was almost immediate.  ‘ _ Junkie. _ ’

Neil grinned down at his phone and slid it back into his pocket.  Andrew was going to ask questions at some point, but for now he’d hold his peace, and that was all Neil needed.  

 

Practicing at night was routine, but Neil surprised himself with how much he missed Andrew’s silent presence when it actually came down to leaving the dorms without him.  He left Kevin behind, choosing to jog over to the stadium instead of taking one of the cars, and took a spare set of goalie gear from the closet when he got there. It felt strange and heavy on him, almost uncomfortable.  It felt like the first time he’d pulled exy gear on in Millport, like he didn’t know how to move in it, and the racquet was taller than he was. Neil set himself up in the goal, and mapped out his boundaries. The court looked enormous from the new vantage point, and the sense of dislocation continued as Neil reminded himself that he wouldn’t be leaving the confines of the goal.  A slamming door pulled his attention away from the court itself, and Kevin strode into the stadium like he owned it. Neil propped himself up with the goalie racquet and waited for Kevin to see him. 

“Andrew?” Kevin asked, surprised.  Neil watched him do a double-take. “Neil, what the  _ fuck. _ ” 

Neil spun the racquet in his hands like a staff.  “Practicing,” he said. “I need you to start here,” he turned and pointed at the upper right corner of the goal.  “Then on every shot, move over a little bit.” He gestured with the racquet in thrusting moves. “Here, here, here,” he said, outlining the way he wanted Kevin to fire on him.  Across to the left, down a little, back across to the right, in a Z pattern that would give him an idea of how to move in order to deflect the ball from any angle. Kevin was shaking his head, but he’d fetched a ball from the bucket at his feet. 

“You’re insane,” he said.  It didn’t stop him from readying himself to make the first shot.  Neil watched him carefully, and Kevin moved in near slow-motion, telegraphing his moves before he fired the ball into the goal.  Neil had always prided himself on his quick reflexes, but dealing with other people in motion was completely different than watching the ball coming at him and knowing he wasn’t going to catch it.  The ball clipped the edge of his racquet and hit the goal, directly in the upper right corner. Neil picked it up and tossed it back. Kevin fired again, and this time Neil was ready, shooting it back into Kevin’s net.  Despite the heavy armor and the unfamiliar racquet, there was nothing wrong with his aim, and Kevin didn’t even have to move to catch it. 

“Again,” Neil demanded.  Kevin fired again, and Neil deflected.  With Kevin standing directly in front of the goal, Neil quickly realized that he was going to have to keep doing this from every conceivable angle.  He wondered how long it would be until Kevin got bored of standing in one place, firing on an inexperienced goalie. 

He was shaking and dripping sweat by the time Kevin called a halt to the practice.  They’d covered the entire goal, Neil missing more than he caught, but Kevin hadn’t argued with the Z pattern of his shots.  

“If you’re going to do this, we’re going to be here every night,” Kevin warned him.  “Doing this over and over until you stop missing everything.” 

Neil scowled.  “I didn’t miss  _ everything, _ ” he said.  But he’d missed more than he’d deflected.  “And sooner or later you’re going to have to start moving around.” 

“I know,” Kevin said, and as he came closer to start picking up the balls, Neil could see a look of fierce determination on his face.  It had been a long time since either of them had been challenged in their practices. It suddenly occurred to him that getting Kevin involved in his training was probably a bad idea – he could already see the gears turning as Kevin worked out the best way to train him.  They worked in silent concert to get everything picked up and ready for morning practice, and were in the showers when Kevin called out to him again. “I think,” he said slowly. “That it would be a good idea to get everyone involved in new positions.” 

“They’re not gonna go for it,” Neil told him.  He tried to imagine Andrew as a striker, and snickered.  

“Enough of them will,” Kevin said.  “Dan, Allison, Matt. Nicky.” 

He didn’t say anything about Andrew, either, Neil noted, but judging by the scowl on his face when Neil exited the shower stall, he was clearly thinking about him.  Neither of them said anything about the freshmen subs. Neil followed Kevin out to the parking lot and was startled to find Andrew leaning against the hood of his car, smoking.  Judging by the scattered butts by his feet, he’d been out here chainsmoking the entire time they were practicing. 

He didn’t say anything when they arrived, simply got into the car and waited for them.  Neil was beginning to tremble with exhaustion and exertion, and between one blink and the next, the entire drive back to the dorms vanished.  Neil debated the merits of just sleeping in the car, but Andrew killed the plan before it was formed by getting out and opening the passenger door for him.  

“Such a gentleman,” Neil murmured.  Andrew lifted one eyebrow. 

“Don’t oversleep,” he said.

 

He would have slept straight through his alarm the next morning, but Nicky woke him up by yelling at him from the door.  

“I’m so glad you’re actually sleeping again, Neil,” he said.  “But you’re gonna be doing laps all day if you don’t get moving.” 

Neil felt sluggish and weak, but got himself moving.  The day passed without incident, and before long, it was just him and Kevin on the court again.  This time, the goalkeeper’s gear didn’t feel as unnatural, and he took a few practice swipes with the racquet to reacquaint himself to it after an afternoon spent as a striker.  He’d relearned how to be a backliner in two – or three, considering the day lengths – weeks in Evermore, and hadn’t started practicing until Tetsuji had beaten him down on top of everything Riko’s darkly fertile imagination could come up with.  Neil gave himself a mental timeline of four weeks to get good enough in goal to reveal himself to the rest of the team. Kevin positioned himself in front of the goal again, and Neil let his focus narrow until it was just Kevin and the balls he fired into Neil’s new space.  He deflected a full half of them this time. 

 

Curiousity was clearly chewing on Andrew at the end of the first week.  Neil wondered how long it would take him to actually get around to asking, and whether or not he’d just sneak in after Kevin and Neil were busy on court one night.  Andrew broke on Tuesday. 

“What are you doing at night that’s exhausting you?” he tore out after their afternoon practice.  

Nicky, unfortunately, overheard him.  Bearing a wicked grin, he said, “Oh, Andrew, don’t you think you should know what’s wearing him out?”

Neil ignored him.  “Practicing,” he said to Andrew.  

There was a novel waiting in Andrew’s hazel eyes, but the rest of his face was as expressionless as it ever was.  “Don’t hurt yourself,” was all he said. 

 

Kevin agreed with him about four weeks being enough time to get good enough to play.  Neil was pretty sure he couldn’t do a whole game in goal, but it was enough that he would be able to handle it for a quarter, or possibly a half.  For his part, Kevin had taken to training Neil in goal like a duck to water. The fierce grin of a challenge lit his face more often than not, and Neil could  _ feel _ himself improving as Kevin began bringing out his Raven tricks, feinting his shots, and using the wall to pass to himself in order to come at Neil from new angles.  He saved more than he missed by the end of the third week, and Neil was growing confident in goal. 

“I think you should start showing off,” Kevin told him.  “At practice tomorrow, I’ll get Andrew out of the goal since he’s not doing anything anyway, and you go in for him and get some practice dealing with other players besides me.” 

Neil nodded his agreement, and matched Kevin’s grin when he thought about what the rest of the team would say to seeing their striker vice-captain in the goal.  

 

“Andrew, get the hell off my court if you’re not going to practice!” Kevin bellowed.  Neil knew his cue, and jogged off, changing as quickly as he could. His faceguard hid his expression, but he knew he was anticipating the reactions he was about to get.  Andrew was sprawled out on the bench when he returned, and Neil had to forcibly restrain himself from looking at him as he went by. 

Wymack noticed him first.  “Josten, the hell?” 

Neil ignored him as he reentered the court, but he could see Andrew sit up from the corner of his eye.  The rest of the team noticed one after another as Neil took up in the goal, and he watched as each of them went still and looked over to Andrew, who’d gotten off the bench and was nearly leaning up against the plexiglass walls.  

“Neil, seriously?” Dan asked.  

“Are we practicing or not?” Neil said instead of answering.  A dark laugh drew his attention to Kevin’s sub, Jack, and before he knew it, there was a ball flying at his goal.  Three and a half weeks of Kevin firing on him from every conceivable angle had prepared him for this, and Neil took two steps to the left, swung casually, and watched as the entire team followed the arcing path the ball took across the court, their heads swiveling in unison to see where it went.  Kevin was the only one who didn’t and Neil, who had nearly developed a sixth sense where Kevin was concerned, watched him without turning his head, and caught the motion when Kevin snatched up one of the loose balls and fired again, aiming for the right, and forcing Neil to throw himself into it in order to stop the shot. He scowled, but managed to send the ball winging back at Kevin.  

The entire team erupted in questions.  

“How the hell did you get so good at this?” 

“Why are you in goal?”

“Are you still gonna play as a striker?”

“Is there anything you can’t do?” 

“Why bother?” 

“What the hell?”

The last one was from Wymack, who’d come onto the court while they were pressing Neil for answers.  Andrew was right behind him. 

“Thinking of taking over for me?” Andrew asked quietly.  Neil shook his head. 

“Just trying to get better,” he said, and focused on Wymack.  

“You crazy son of a bitch,” Wymack said, staring at him.  “You gonna start playing as a dealer next, too?” 

Neil shrugged.  “I could if you need me to.” 

“What put this stupid idea into your head?” asked Wymack, who looked torn between being angry and impressed.  Neil shrugged again. 

“Dude,” Matt said.  “Does this mean I need to start practicing as a striker?” 

Kevin met Neil’s eyes, and they shared a grin.  “I was thinking that,” Kevin said, drawing their attention.  “Dan, Matt, Nicky, Allison, you interested?” 

“What about me?” Aaron asked.  Kevin turned an incredulous look on him.  

“Are you interested?” 

“I’m fucking not,” Jack said.  Sheena scowled beside him. 

“No one asked you,” Allison said, not looking away from Kevin.  “What about you, Kevin? You gonna pick up a different spot, too?” 

“Dealer,” Kevin said, which was news to Neil.  “Offensive dealer. Who’s taking over as strikers?” 

Matt’s hand shot into the air.  Aaron was slower to volunteer himself, but considering Neil hadn’t expected him to join in their mixup at all, it was surprising enough.  

“Defensive dealer,” Nicky said thoughtfully.  

“Guess that makes us backliners,” Dan said to Allison.  Both of them had played the position before, but Neil was pleased that his Foxes were taking to the idea of learning new positions so quickly.  He carefully didn’t look at Andrew. 

It nearly knocked him over when Andrew added his voice.  “I’ll do striker,” he said. Everyone, including Wymack, turned to stare at him.  Neil could see amusement in his eyes, but there was no hint of a smile. “Could be interesting.” 

Minus Jack and Sheena, the rest of the Baby Foxes divvied up new positions between themselves as well.  Andrew loped off the court to change his gear, and the rest of them discussed how they’d run the scrimmage.  Neil noted that no one had volunteered as a new goalie, and wondered about it. As strange as it had been to stand in the goal against Kevin alone, Neil was completely taken aback at seeing his entire team ranged out over the court in their new positions.  Kevin came on as a dealer, with Andrew and Matt as strikers. Allison and Dan were in position as backliners. On the other side, Nicky was standing as dealer for the other ‘team.’ Aaron and Jack were on the striker line, and Brian and Sheena were in place for backliners. Katie put herself in the goal, but she wasn’t dressed for it, and she didn’t look confident in her abilities.    It took all of five minutes to devolve into a fight between Jack and Matt and then Wymack was calling a halt to the practice. 

“You’re all fifteen minutes over time, anyway, get the hell out of here.” 

Most of the team filed off, but Andrew and Matt remained, with Kevin.  Neil had watched Andrew leaning on his racquet, spinning it around, and pacing his space through more practices than he could count over the last year or so, and he was beginning to understand it.  Being in goal was  _ boring _ when the ball wasn’t nearby.  He wondered if playing as a striker would be enough to get Andrew interested in the game at last.  

“Heads up,” Andrew called, drawing Neil’s attention, and then all of a sudden, quicker than Neil was expecting, he was firing  a ball directly at Neil’s goal. Instinct and weeks of practice had Neil scrambling to block the shot, and he missed by half an inch.  Andrew swung his racquet up to rest across his shoulders. “Too slow,” he said. Neil hit the ball back up the court, aggravated that Andrew had taken him off-guard.  

“We’re done practicing,” Neil retorted.  

“No we’re not,” Matt said immediately.  “I’m gonna take this seriously.” 

For some reason, they all looked at Andrew after Matt’s pronouncement.  Andrew didn’t look at any of them, but he nodded. 

“It could be interesting.” 

Kevin looked like Christmas and his birthday had come early and together, just for him.   

 

Kevin set Andrew and Matt up with cones, telling them to run Raven drills until they were confident with their accuracy.  Matt took to it, but Andrew knocked all of his over within the first two minutes. Kevin scowled at him, helmet off so he could see unimpeded.  Neil leaned on his racquet and watched. 

 “Can you knock them over in order?” Kevin asked.  Andrew spun his racquet. 

“Can’t be too hard.” 

They set the cones back up, and Kevin called out a random order.  Andrew knocked them over one by one, faltering only slightly when one of the cones tilted but didn’t fall.  Matt’s mouth was hanging open at the display. 

“Power and precision,” Kevin told him.  “Keep shooting.” 

He returned to Neil, and the two of them continued as if it was a night practice instead of an afternoon run long.  

 

“I’m guessing this is your little secret,” Andrew said later.  They were up on the roof of Fox Tower, watching the sun set, and passing a cigarette back and forth between them.  “The reason you didn’t want me in your practices?” 

Neil made a noise of agreement.  “The looks on everyone’s faces was so worth it,” he confided.  “Even yours. You actually looked interested today. Did you have fun?” 

Andrew scoffed.  “There’s nothing fun about this stupid game,” he said.  They lapsed into silence, but Andrew broke it after only a few minutes.  “But it was interesting.” 

Neil turned his face away to hide his smile.  “Think we should do this for our next game?” 

They would be starting the season against Breckenridge, easy enough that if it looked like something would go wrong, they could change back and take the game.  

“Do you think you can do a whole game in goal?” 

Neil blanched.  “I’d be bored stiff,” he said.  Andrew’s lips twitched. 

“Ahh, so he begins to understand,” Andrew told his cigarette.  Neil rolled his eyes and snagged it back. Andrew leaned over and kissed him before he could do more than arrange his fingers around it, one hand curling into the back of Neil’s neck, and Neil leaned into it, kissing back.  

Later, Neil wondered if Andrew would be able to make a whole game as a striker, even if he could do Raven drills as well as if he’d been playing them his whole life.  He didn’t think it was worth his time to ask, however. They’d find out if it was feasible for either of them during the next practice. 

 

Dan was thrilled by the idea of using their new ‘lineup’ in a game, especially one as given as Breckenridge.  The entire team was confident in their chances of winning, with or without changing their positions, and most of them were eager to see the looks on everyone’s faces when they pulled it.  

“Too bad it’s not the Trojans,” Nicky said.  “Can you imagine? Jeremy Knox would probably have an orgasm right on the spot at the thought of a new challenge from the Foxes.” 

Kevin scowled, but most of them laughed, Neil included.  He was feeling more confident in the goal, and Andrew was actually  _ practicing _ at their practices, learning the tricks of being a striker like he’d been born for it.  Neil privately wondered if there was anything Andrew couldn’t do. Matt wasn’t far behind him, and Aaron was doing passably well.  Kevin took to being a dealer with the same single-minded determination as everything else he did on court, including teaching himself to play with his non-dominant hand.  He’d kept up practices with both hands, and continued doing it while learning his new spot. Renee’s ankle was on its way to healing, and she’d started coming back to practices even if she couldn’t do anything on court.  She was pleasantly excited by the prospect of surprising everyone when the Foxes pulled their little trick, and cheered the team on from the bench while they worked. Wymack, Neil noticed, wore an expression of befuddled amazement most of the time as his once-fractured mess of a team worked together and became a stronger unit than they’d ever been.  Allison was discussing backliner points with Aaron and Nicky, and Matt was with Kevin and Andrew, bouncing balls off cones and passing back and forth with one another net to net. Neil paced his goal, trying to get the space of it into his bones so that during a game, he wouldn’t accidentally forget himself. 

 

The night of their first spring game, Wymack kept their lineup out of the other team’s hands as long as possible, recalling Knox’s trick the previous year.  Kevin had called Jeremy Knox before the game and told him to watch it. Neil had heard his good-natured confusion through the phone, but he’d agreed to get his team together to watch the Foxes play without asking too many questions.  

After warming up, the Foxes lined up and waited for their names to be called.  The announcers didn’t disappoint. 

“Starting strikers for the Palmetto Foxes are – uh…” A brief burst of static sounded as the man apparently leaned away to question someone else. “Can this be right?” he mumbled, and then raised his voice again.  “Andrew Minyard and Matthew Boyd!” 

The other announcer, audible through the TV screens, asked if the Foxes were trying to die tonight, but Allison and Dan were on as backliners, and Kevin as a dealer.  Neil followed him out as the goalkeeper. The stands were almost dead silent, even before the muffling effect of the court walls. 

The Jackals filed onto the court, and Kevin stepped forward to do the coin toss.  The Foxes won first serve, and Kevin dealt it straight back to Neil. Dan had done this with Andrew on occasion, but Neil was suddenly unsure of everything he’d ever learned, didn’t know if he could hit it hard enough, and was absolutely certain he was going to miss entirely and accidentally let his own team score on him – 

Then the ball was in range, and Neil was moving, and the dull  _ thwock _ of his racquet reverberated up his arms and the ball was sailing into motion.  Andrew jumped up, snatched it out of the air, and took off, blazing a trail down the court and dodging the Jackal’s backliner like he’d spent his life training to be a striker.  Neil grinned widely as Andrew took a shot, faster than anyone expected – the Jackals still weren’t sure if the Foxes lineup was a joke – and scored. The far goal lit up red, and Neil jerked his fist into the air, fiercely proud.  

After that, it was almost a rout.  The Foxes won 9-4, and filed off the court victoriously.  

“You crazy bastards,” Wymack said, but there was pride and happiness in his voice and etched onto his face as he said it.  


	2. It's All About Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matt/Neil and Jealous!Andrew abound.

The party was in full swing in the upperclassmen’s room.  Neil had been roped into it as the switchup was his idea in the first place, but there was no sign of Andrew.  To Neil’s surprise, he’d promised to show up a little bit later, and Neil was beginning to wonder how much later was  _ later. _  He’d had a couple of drinks, more than he normally would, but he was safe, he was among friends, and he knew Andrew would take care of him if he needed it.  If it seemed like he couldn’t take care of himself.  _ Which I can, _ he reminded himself.  But having Andrew’s support was still nice.

Allison returned from the bedroom with an empty wine bottle and a square piece of cardboard.  “Spin the bottle!” she announced, to cheers. Neil had heard of it, but he’d never played, and shifted closer to the circle in order to watch.  Matt slid over and tugged him forward. 

“You’re playing,” he said.  Neil raised an eyebrow. 

“I never have,” he started. 

“More reason to start,” Dan cut him off.  “We play it a little like Truth or Dare.” She motioned for the Allison to give her the cardboard square, then tilted it so Neil could see what was on it.  There was a plastic spinner pinned in the center of a circle that had been divided up into triangles. Each one had a command on it: _kiss for one minute, kiss for five minutes, kiss for ten minutes, take a shot, take two shots, take three shots,_ _take off one item of clothing, take off three items of clothing._  “You spin this,” she demonstrated.  It landed on _do a sexy dance._  “Then if it’s something that needs another person, like kissing or strip-tease, you spin the bottle and whoever it lands on is the one you have to do it with.  It can get pretty fun.” 

Allison laughed.  “Last year, Renee had to kiss Seth.”  There was a hint of darkness on her face at Seth’s name, but the smile was fond.  

“It was awful,” Renee said, smiling.  

“Just another excuse to drink,” Neil said. 

“Like we need one of those,” Matt said, laughing.  

After a round of rock-paper-scissors to determine who would spin first, Allison had to do two shots, which she took like a professional.  Neil was squashed between her and Matt, so the next round went to Renee on her right, who had to take off an article of clothing. Renee made a show of pulling off one of her socks, and Neil relaxed slightly.  The others had seen him, of course, but the idea of sitting around half naked was unappealing. The square went around the circle, and then it was Neil’s turn. He had to take two shots, and wrinkled his nose but took the shots.  The alcohol made the lights burn brighter around him, and he was hyper aware of Matt’s solid warmth beside him. He missed Andrew with an almost physical pang.  _ Not that he’d play this stupid game, _ Neil rationalized.  But it would have been nice if he’d been there.  

A knock on the door revealed Nicky, Aaron, and Kevin, carrying more alcohol.  They were welcomed and integrated into the group. The rules of the game were explained again, and Nicky grinned widely.  

“Always wanted to kiss you, Kevin!” he said brightly.  Kevin rolled his eyes and took a shot. 

Neil landed on  _ take three shots _ and was beginning to wonder if they’d somehow rigged it against him.  His blood was buzzing when he passed the square off, and watched as Dan gave Nicky a lap-dance.  There was a lot of laughter involved, and grimaces from Nicky. Kevin had to take three things off, and was either too drunk or not quick enough to realize that he could have taken off anything.  His jacket, shirt, and pants were neatly folded, and then Kevin was sitting in his underwear. He wasn’t the only one who was nearly naked, but Matt had kept his pants on when he’d landed on that command.  Allison had taken off her pants first, leaving her shirt on, and Neil was hyper-aware of the bare expanse of leg next to him even if he wasn’t interested in looking at her. 

Neil took the square and spun the pointer.  Then panic dropped like ice into his stomach.   _ Kiss for ten minutes. _  Andrew wasn’t here and he didn’t want to kiss anyone else.  He wasn’t willing to back out of the game, though, and swallowed against his discomfort before leaning over to spin the wine bottle.  He couldn’t watch it, however, and squeezed his eyes closed. When the cheers erupted, he opened them and followed the line of the bottle to Matt.  

Matt shifted so he was kneeling in front of Neil, and leaned in close.  “It’s just a game,” he whispered. “Are you okay with this?” 

“It’s just a game,” Neil parroted. Matt pulled back, winked at him, and then leaned in to kiss him.  A phone beeped, and Allison said, “Timer’s on. Ten minutes, go!” 

Kissing Matt was nothing like kissing Andrew, was the first thing Neil thought.  Matt was gentle, holding back. There were hot hands on Neil’s shoulders, holding him in place without pinning him down.  

“Deeper,” Nicky demanded.  

“This okay?” Matt asked against Neil’s lips.  Neil made a noise of assent, and then Matt was kissing him again, a little more forcefully.  Neil felt a tongue flick against his lips and opened his mouth automatically. Matt tasted of vodka and mint, and his tongue was agile.  Neil leaned into it, and Matt’s arms came around his shoulders, pulling him close. A helpless noise escaped from Neil and his face burned, but Matt swallowed it before any of the others could hear it.  It seemed to spur Matt on, because there was a hand in his hair, pulling gently and tipping Neil’s head back. Neil reached out and clung to Matt’s arms as Matt took him apart. Neil was vaguely aware of being pushed down, but his body was on fire, and he didn’t mind.  A thigh came up between his legs and Neil arched his back, not even sure if he was trying to get away or get closer. A hand slid down his chest, over his waist, and gripped at his hip, burning a trail along his skin even through his clothes. A deafening buzzing sound burst into his skull, and Neil opened his eyes to find Matt looking down at him.  They parted and Neil was panting, dazed. 

“Oh, yeah, times – times up,” Allison said breathlessly.  Matt returned to his spot and Neil pushed himself back up into a sitting position.  The others were staring at him with open mouths and wide eyes. More than a few of them were breathing hard.  

“Jesus, babe, that was  _ hot, _ ” Dan said, and awareness crashed back into Neil like a meteor.  He tucked his legs up to his chest, and watched as Allison took the spinner for her turn.  The back of Neil’s neck prickled, and he looked over to find an unamused Andrew staring at him.  Neil climbed unsteadily to his feet and went to him, leaving the game and the unfamiliar feelings behind without a second thought.  

“Hey,” Neil said. 

“Having fun?” 

Neil leaned into Andrew, dropping his head to Andrew’s shoulder.  “I missed you,” he said honestly. 

“I can see that.” 

“Roof?”

“So I can push you off?”

“I’ll take you with me.” 

Andrew didn’t dignify that with a response, turning and exiting the room without waiting for Neil.  Neil hurried after him anyway. 

After they’d taken their usual perches, Neil lit a cigarette and toyed with it.  “Are you mad at me?” Neil asked, wondering if Andrew was unhappy about him kissing Matt. 

“You?  No. Boyd better watch himself.” 

Neil opened his mouth, tried to think of something to say, and then closed it again. 

“You’ve been drinking,” Andrew said.  

“It was a game,” said Neil, wondering why Andrew was so angry.  He regretted the alcohol now when it was slowing his responses and reaction time.  Then he realized what the problem might be, and hoped he wasn’t doing anything to make things worse.  “He asked if it was alright.” 

Andrew said nothing, but the tension in his shoulders drained away almost immediately.  “Still wasn’t consent,” he said at last. “Since you’re too drunk to say no.” 

Neil wrinkled his nose.  “Am not,” he said. “I could have.  I chose not to.” Before he could second guess himself, his mouth was running again without checking in with his brain first.  “Why are you so unhappy? Are you jealous?” 

Andrew scoffed. 

“It was different,” Neil admitted.  “Not nearly as bad as Nicky.” 

The tension was back.  “When did you kiss Nicky?”

Neil scowled.  “You should know,” he said.  “You were there. The first time you took me to Columbia.” 

Andrew flicked his cigarette butt over the edge of the building and blew out a cloud of smoke.  “I’ll kill him,” he said, and started getting to his feet. Neil seized the sleeve of his jacket.  

“You can’t tell me you didn’t know,” he said, astonished.  “Wasn’t it your idea?” 

Andrew turned a black look on him and Neil recoiled.  “No,” Andrew said. “It wasn’t.” 

Now Neil was embarrassed and unhappy.  “Sorry,” he said. “Still wasn’t as good as kissing you,” he added.  Andrew froze. Neil took a deep breath. “It’s just a game, and it wasn’t bad, but I still kept wishing it was you.” 

Andrew resettled himself without a word.  Neil took this for permission. 

“When you kiss me, I never want to do anything else,” he said.  “I want to kiss you for the rest of my life.” 

“Shut up.” 

“Make me,” Neil challenged.  “You’re perfect, did you know that?  You have a perfect mouth and a perfect tongue, and a perfect face, and –”

Andrew was in his space.  “Yes or no?” 

“Yes, you idiot.” 

Andrew kissed him like it was the last thing he was going to do.  Neil melted immediately, kissing back with everything in him. “Yes, I was jealous,” Andrew said after an eternity.  Neil felt warm all over and nearly smiled. “Wished I was in your place,” he added. “Boyd looks like he knows what he’s doing.” 

Neil pushed against his shoulder.  “You’re awful,” he said. 

“Thought I was perfect.” 

“Perfectly awful,” Neil decided.  Andrew kissed him again lightly. 

“I’m lying,” he said.  “I came in and saw Boyd kissing you and wanted to kill him.” 

“Because I’m drunk?”

“Because you’re you.  And he’s not me.” 

It was a cold night, but Neil felt warm all over.  


End file.
